Responsible Economic Policy-Making in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

To make informed decisions, citizens need access to objective information on socio-economic challenges and the corresponding policies that can solve them. A Center for International Private Enterprise event on November 13 will focus on assessing the state of affairs in the Western Balkans and how political opportunism impacts the citizens’ participation in public decision-making. The event will also include CIPE local partners from the Center for Policy and Governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina and LIBEK in Serbia who will present their efforts to provide informed analyses of responsible economic policies to the public in their countries.

Welcome and remarks

• Martina Hrvolova, Program Officer for Europe and Eurasia

Panelists

• Adis Muhovic, Executive Director of the Center for Policy and Governance
• Petar Čekerevac, Executive Manager of LIBEK
• Natalia Otel Belan, Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia

Moderator

• Marija Sajkas, Founder of 4 Better Media

BIOS:

• Martina Hrvolova is a Program Officer for Europe at CIPE since 2016. She concentrates on responses to global strategic threats, economic misconceptions, responsible economic policies, authoritarian capital, and private sector leadership in advancing democracy and markets in Central & Eastern Europe as well as in the Balkans. Previously, Hrvolova served as a human rights expert for the Slovak Foreign Service from 2005 to 2015, and during that time she was posted to the Slovak Missions to NATO and EU in Brussels, Belgium, primarily advising on public affairs, NATO Partnerships, EU Enlargement and Western Balkans.
• Adis Muhovic is the Executive Director at the Center for Policy and Governance (CPU) in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before joining CPU, Adis worked for the Communications and Public Relations Office at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sarajevo. He is passionate about introducing new IT and web-based solutions to the civil society sector’s challenges.
• Petar Čekerevac is the Executive Manager of LIBEK in charge of fundraising, financial planning, and international partnerships. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Before joining LIBEK, Petar worked for several civil society organizations in Serbia as a coordinator, project manager, and activist. His primary professional and academic interests are conflict resolution, individual rights, public policy, and political theory. He regularly speaks and lectures on events in Serbia and the Western Balkans, and has been a guest speaker at events in Denmark and Russia.
• Natalia Otel Belan is Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia at the Center for International Private Enterprise. With over 15 years of experience, Otel Belan has led design, implementation, and evaluation of programs focused on strengthening the capacity of business associations, chambers of commerce, think tanks and other reform-focused organizations. Her expertise includes improving the business environment, corporate governance, business advocacy, anti-corruption and ethics, association management, and coalition building in the private sector.
• Marija Šajkaš (pronounced as Maria Shay-kash) is a U.S. based writer, media expert and advocate, focusing on freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, and the state of media in the U.S. and the Balkans. She is a founder of 4 Better Media. Some of her most recent appearances and projects include consulting for Safety of Female Journalists Online OSCE (2018-2019), The Peter Mackler Award and The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism CUNY (2018).